| This study examines the effect of experiential place and local community on information access and behavior for two communities of parents of children with Down syndrome. It uncovers substantive issues associated with health information seeking, government and education-related information access, and information overload and avoidance within the two communities. It also explores the question of place of local community as a unit of study, and examines information behaviors on the community level.;This multi-method study applies grounded theory analysis to a combination of interview and information horizons mapping data. A purposive sample of twenty-eight parent participants and seven service and information providers were selected from two communities in Florida - one in South Florida, and one in North Florida. Participants answered questions about information and service seeking, completed demographic surveys, and created community and social network maps. A grounded theory approach was taken toward interview data analysis.;The study finds that local parent information networks served as the primary vehicle for information sharing among participants, and that place had a strong influence on information access and behavior. The Theory of Information Worlds is used to characterize differences in social norms, information values and actor roles between the two communities, and to explore how these differences affected information access and sharing among participants. |
