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This study aims to analyse the impact of e-paper on many existing industries including paper, publishing, book distribution, display, handheld device manufacturers and content service providers. Flexible display has been studied by many institutes, firms and market research companies. Some believe that e-paper is an exceptional application for flexible display, and the need for flexible display development for handheld devices and cloud-based e-book content is indisputable.

This study uses the Delphi technique and STEEP (Sociological, Technological, Economic, Environmental and Political aspects) with a panel to analyse a business model and the opportunity for the development of e-paper in Taiwan up to the year 2020.

The study concludes that e-paper content and customised digital services are an essential part of e-paper development, while hardware and cloud data are no more than a mechanism to show, compute and store data. Thus, whether the screen of a handheld device is flexible may not be of importance. Although e-paper will affect the display industry, it will not substitute for handheld devices and traditional bookstores.

This research can be used as a reference for government, academics, industry and international investors.

Prefabricated building (PB) has been a pivotal force in advancing global building industrialization and sustainability. However, the PB supply chain operation faces significant challenges of exhausting negotiations, poor communication and imperfect information, representing high transaction costs (TCs). Existing literature inadequately addresses governance behaviors to mitigate TCs. This study aims to explore PB supply chain inefficiencies through the lens of TC theory, examining the nuanced relationships between hybrid governance behaviors and TCs and exploring effective governance strategies.

Based on the theoretical frameworks of governance behavior and TCs, this study employed semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys with PB experts in Anhui, China. Subsequently, integrated backpropagation neural network and ordered logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify critical governance behaviors and explore boundaries for TCs reduction.

TCs of the PB supply chain are elevated (1) from communication and coordination; (2) during the construction and approval stages. Investigation of how governance behaviors influence the TCs indicated that (1) enterprises exert more influence than local governments; (2) governance effectiveness in the transaction and transaction environment dimensions outweighs stakeholder influence and (3) functional TCs exist in PB, associated with component manufacturing, PB contract negotiation and learning cost.

This study extends understanding of TCs in PB by providing nuanced insights into the nature and timing of TCs and elucidates how governance structures shape TCs. Functional TCs intrinsic to PB were identified when exploring the optimization boundaries. These insights equip local governments and enterprises with actionable knowledge to prioritize effective governance behaviors and measures.

The purpose of this paper is to modify light hollow polymer microsphere (LHPM) with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) to improve its compatibility with latex and apply the obtained nano-TiO2/LHPM composite particles in external wall thermal insulation coatings.

The nano-TiO2/LHPM composite particles were prepared via vigorous stirring. The morphology and chemical composition of the produced nano-TiO2/LHPM composite particles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectrum, thermo-gravimetric analyzer and Fourier transform infrared. The performance of this new composite coating was evaluated by checking its stability, density, radiation reflectivity, thermal conductivity and the resulting insulation temperature difference when forming coating film.

It was found that a 9:1 mass ratio of nano-TiO2/LHPM with total 10 weight per cent composite particles in the thermal insulation paint showed low density, good stability, low thermal conductivity (0.1687 W/m·K) and high insulation temperature difference (5.8°C).

The LHPM can be modified by other nanoparticles to improve its insulation performance in thermal insulation coatings.

This work provides a simple, robust, but effective approach to produce new thermal insulation coatings with nano-TiO2/LHPM composite particles.

This method for surface modification of LHPMs is novel and the modified hollow polymer microspheres could be applied to external wall insulation coatings.