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 PhD candidate in Information Science at the Collaborative Computing Group (MadCollab) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I am advised by Dr. Jacob Thebault-Spieker. My research lies at the intersection of social computing and human-computer interaction. I study disparities in upstream data production within socio-technical systems—such as Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, and Airbnb—focusing on cultural and geographical contexts. On the downstream side, I investigate how these upstream disparities influence language model–powered applications and explore computational interventions to promote equity. Prior to my PhD, 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.
   Yaxuan Yin, Shamya Karumbaiah, Ju Lim, Shona Acquaye, Sara Schwartz.
   In the 2025 International Conference on Computer‐Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL’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