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Energy optimization in buildings by controlling the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is being researched extensively. In this paper, a model-free actor-critic Reinforcement Learning (RL) controller is designed using a variant of artificial recurrent neural networks called Long-Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. Optimization of thermal comfort alongside energy consumption is the goal in tuning this RL controller. The test platform, our office space, is designed using...

Energy optimization in buildings by controlling the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is being researched extensively. In this paper, a model-free actor-critic Reinforcement Learning (RL) controller is designed using a variant of artificial recurrent neural networks called Long-Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. Optimization of thermal comfort alongside energy consumption is the goal in tuning this RL controller. The test platform, our office space, is designed using...

Poor environmental comfort in learning spaces can have an impact on the learning capacities of students. It is not unusual to find learning spaces in Nigerian higher institutions in which the indoor environmental qualities do not meet the occupants’ requirements. Despite being in the tropics, where solar radiation is in abundance, Nigerian building industry professionals pay little attention to passive energy utilization. Knowing how buildings perform in the country may appeal to their...

A NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) ward caters to critical situations. Health and wellbeing of premature infants are positively impacted through attention to the indoor thermal conditions. At the same, the caregivers (hospital personnel and parents) have different thermal comfort requirements. This research addresses these contradictory thermal comfort requirements. Thermal conditions were monitored in and close to an operational incubator, placed in a climate chamber. Investigated...

Farmer Field Schools (FFS) can empower farmers through meetings at demonstration sites to promote agricultural production because of discovery learning. This study empirically investigated the FFS’s diffusion of knowledge and its impact on the smallholder farmer’s adaptation to climate change in Kiboga district characterised by low rainfall pattern. A cross-sectional research design was adopted where a total of 120 FFS-members and 60 non-FFS-members were randomly selected and...

Teachers play an important role in promoting climate change literacy in schools, but not much is known about which teacher characteristics significantly influence Geography teachers’ climate change science literacy. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of teachers’ characteristics such as gender, age, qualification, specialisation, experience, and teaching grade on Geography teachers’ literacy about climate change science. The study uses a quantitative research approach on...

This qualitative study examines how climate change scientific knowledge is framed and positioned within the Singapore and Philippines school curricula in relation to broader citizenship concepts and ideas. The findings reveal that climate change is taught in very different ways within both education systems. The Singapore case demonstrates the strengths and limitations of relying on one discipline such as geography as the sole vehicle for teaching such a complex socio-scientific issue. The...

Purpose Higher education system has a critical role to play in educating environmentally aware and participant citizens about global climate change (CC). And, as shown by the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Climate Change – COP 21, held in Paris in December 2015, there is still a path to be followed regarding the role played by universities in the negotiations and in influencing decision-making on a matter of such global importance. The purpose of this first study...

Climate change is a pressing concern. Higher education can address the challenge, but systematic analyses of climate change in education policy are sparse. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by reporting on how Canadian postsecondary educational institutions have engaged with climate change through policy actions. We used descriptive quantitative methods to analyze climate change-specific policies from a representative sample of 50 institutions across Canada and found that...

The most prominent challenge in 21th century is global warming which seriously threats the mankind. Building sector with 40% of global energy consumption and GHG emission play a key role in this threat. In this regard, the impact of cooling systems cannot be ignored where along with ventilation and heating systems totally account for 60% of energy consumed in buildings. Passive cooling systems can be a promising alternative to reduce energy consumption. One of the oldest passive cooling...

Global environmental change will have major impacts on ecosystems and human livelihoods while challenging the adaptive capacity of individuals and communities. Social learning, an ongoing adaptive process of knowledge generation, reflection and synthesis, may enhance people’s awareness about climate change and its impacts, with positive outcomes for their adaptive capacity. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of factors promoting social learning in climate change...

The inclusion of the climate change topic in the curriculum of school subjects in Singapore was pivotal, such that it positioned the discourse squarely in the structure of Singapore's education system. In an examination of the intersections and disjoints between state policies on climate change against the programmatic curriculum, results showed that there is no strong policy curriculum that mandates how climate change should be learned in Singapore, even though it is present in several...

Participatory innovation in agriculture is key in enhancing food security in Sub-Sahara Africa. The Collective Learning Community (CLC) concept entails bringing people together for shared learning, discovery and generation of knowledge. It enhances formation of networks to promote continuous interaction and communication. Farmers in Mauche Ward of Njoro Sub-County depended on rain fed agriculture vulnerable to rainfall variability and the negative effects of climate change. Linkages needed...

In recent years, climate change has received significant global attention. It presents a unique challenge to sustainable human development. The scientific evidence is clear that climate change is likely to have negative impacts on efforts to achieve Nigeria’s development objectives, including the targets set out in Nigeria Vision20:2020 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The objective of the paper is to examine the challenges of climate change and its implications on quality...

The development of learners’ geographical thinking about climate change rests upon teachers’ role as curriculum makers in engaging the context of learning. The topic is inherently complex, and the literature has shown that students have confused beliefs about the phenomenon, positive strong opinions on its mitigation, and admitting that the issue is a difficult and overwhelming matter that is beyond the capacity and control of a young person. Using Singapore as a case study, this chapter...