Yaxuan (Shelly) Yin

PhD Candidate
University of Wisconsin-Madison in Information Science
yaxuan.yin@ wisc.edu

Biography

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👋 Hi, I'm Yaxuan
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Information Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where I work with the Collaborative Computing Group (MadCollab) under the guidance of Dr. Jacob Thebault-Spieker. My research focuses on data production in socio-technical systems such as Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, and Airbnb, examining how cultural and geographical contexts shape community dynamics and data production in these systems.
I also collaborate with Dr. Shamya Karumbaiah at the Responsible AI for Learning (TRAIL) Lab, where we explore the role of large language models (LLMs) in education. Our work aims to empower educators to audit bias, adopt AI tools responsibly, and integrate them effectively into learning environments.
Prior to my Ph.D., I earned a Master’s degree in Urban Informatics and Data Science from New York University.

News

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Publication

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1. Productivity or Equality? Tradeoffs in Volunteer Microtasking in Humanitarian OpenStreetMap.
   Yaxuan Yin, Longjie Guo, Jacob Thebault-Spieker.
   In Proceedings of ACM Conference On Computer‑Supported Cooperative Work And Social Computing (CSCW’24)
   Source   |   Full PDF

2. The Effect of Population Density on Remote Humanitarian Mapping Activities: A Triple‑Difference Analysis.
   Yaxuan Yin, Jacob Thebault-Spieker.
   In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer‑Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW’25)
   Source  |  Full PDF

3. Beyond “Geo” HCI: Exploring Cultural Dimensions of Disparity in OpenStreetMap Road Safety Metadata.
   Yaxuan Yin, Jacob Thebault-Spieker.
   In Proceedings of ACM Conference On Computer‑Supported Cooperative Work And Social Computing (CSCW’25)
   Source   |   Full PDF

4. Toward Teacher‐Centered AI Design: Exploring the Role of Pedagogical Values and Contextual Factors in K‐12 Teachers’ Perceptions of Responsible AI.
   🏅Best Paper Nomination
   Yaxuan Yin, Shamya Karumbaiah, Ju Lim, Shona Acquaye, Sara Schwartz.
   In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL'25).
   Source   |   Full PDF

5. AIBAT: AI Behavior Analysis Tool for Teacher-Driven Contextual Evaluation of Language Models in Education.
   🏅Best Paper Nomination
   Shamya Karumbaiah, Yaxuan Yin, Aayush Bharadwaj.
   In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED'25)
   Source   |   Full PDF

6. Responsible AI in Education: Understanding Teachers’ Priorities and Contextual Challenges.
   Yaxuan Yin, Shamya Karumbaiah, Shona Acquaye.
   In Proceedings of ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT’25)
   Source   |   Full PDF

Referred Posters, Works-in-Progress, and Workshop Paper

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1. Understanding Perceptions of the Reddit Reaction Mechanism in Political Subreddits.
   Longjie Guo, Yaxuan Yin, Jacob Thebault-Spieker.
   In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer‑Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW’24) Extended Abstract
   Source  |  Full PDF

Awards, Fellowships, & Grants