Paradigm Shifts in User Modeling: A Journey from Historical Foundations to Emerging Trends


Held as part of the 32nd ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP 2024)

July 1-4, 2024 - Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy

About the Tutorial

The proposed tutorial aims to serve as a comprehensive roadmap for the UMAP community into the current user modeling research, focusing on the paradigm shifts that have transformed the research landscape in recent times. We will provide a complete overview of the large, long-standing, and ever-growing research fields of user modeling and user profiling, both from a historical and a technical point of view. We will then examine the definitions associated with each key term in this research domain, aiming to eliminate ambiguity and confusion in their usage. As the core of our tutorial, we present in-depth the paradigm shifts that have occurred in recent years, especially due to technological evolution, as well as the current research directions and novel trends in the field. In particular, we illustrate and discuss the advances in the following topics: implicit and explicit user profiling, user behavior modeling, user representation, and beyond-accuracy perspectives. The audience will be engaged in discussions during the whole presentation to foster the development of an interactive event.

Target Audience

Our tutorial warmly welcomes researchers, practitioners, and professionals within the UMAP community, as well as those exploring the broader field of user modeling, and it is suitable for participants with varying levels of experience, from beginners to experts. The tutorial is intended for any audience and is open to researchers, industry technologists, and practitioners. No specific prerequisites are required to participate in this tutorial. The content is structured to be accessible to a diverse audience, including those new to the user modeling field. It is also worth noticing that the concepts illustrated during the tutorial and their applications touch a range of interdisciplinary fields, making the proposed tutorial of interest to an interdisciplinary audience.

Tutorial Structure (Tentative)

This tutorial will take place during the first week of July 2024 in Cagliari, Italy, as part of the 32nd ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP 2024).

The intended length is 90 minutes. Here is an overview of the (tentative) structure:

July 1-4, 2024 (Exact day TBD)

5 minutes

Opening and Welcome

  • Introduction of the presenters

  • Brief overview of the tutorial objectives

15 minutes

Historical overview of user modeling research

  • Journey through the historical foundations of user modeling

  • Explore key milestones and pivotal moments shaping the field

15 minutes

Terminological analysis in user modeling

  • Navigate through prevalent terminology in user modeling literature

  • Critical examination and clarification of key concepts

25 minutes

Paradigm shifts in recent years

  • Explore significant paradigm shifts in user modeling research

  • Examine technological advancements and novel research approaches

20 minutes

Emerging trends in user modeling

  • Analyze the latest trends forging the future of user modeling

10 minutes

Q&A and discussion

  • Time for participants to ask questions and engage in discussions

  • Summarize key takeaways

Resources

The resources of the tutorial will be published soon.

Presenters


Erasmo Purificato

Research Assistant

Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg
Germany


Ludovico Boratto

Associate Professor

University of Cagliari
Italy


Ernesto William De Luca

Full Professor

Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg
Germany

Registration

Registration to the tutorial will be managed by the UMAP 2024 main conference organization.

Contacts

Erasmo Purificato: erasmo.purificato [at] acm.org

Ludovico Boratto: ludovico.boratto [at] acm.org

Ernesto W. De Luca: ernesto.deluca [at] ovgu.de