Ever wanted to know how designers come up with ideas for the clothes we wear, the bags we carry, the patterns in our homes, and the designs of the future?

What contributes to people's fear of crime in cities? How much do litter, graffiti, broken street lighting and dilapidated buildings play a role? Or do people's social and cultural knowledge play a stronger role in shaping people's fears?

Issues such as employee engagement and wellbeing will be the topic of a debate over tea and toast at the business breakfast seminar, staged by ConsultIWP.

Social science underpins many of Britain's most successful public policies from poverty alleviation, macroeconomics to crime prevention. Conversely, a lack of social science and the evidence it provides often leads to failed policies.

The event 'Communicating with Your Baby' has been organised by Professor Karen Pine from the University of Hertfordshire. Members of her team, Neil Howlett and Dr Liz Kirk, will be sharing their findings on 'baby-sign'- a form of non-verbal communication for infants.

From the ordinary thank-you letter to the great works of fiction, inspiration is something that we all have to find. But why is it so elusive? Is there a science to capturing it? Or do we still simply follow the classical art of using a muse?

More than 100 students from Birmingham University will work as volunteers in local schools later this year as part of a new civic engagement initiative. But how important is it for UK universities to play a role in preparing undergraduates for lives of civic engagement?

Sunderland City Council has teamed up with a group of academic researchers to put on an exciting interactive event aimed at making internet users more aware of the problems of disclosing personal information online.

About 300 residents from St. Ann's in Nottingham are expected to take part in a one day programme of interactive workshops during the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Festival of Social Science.

The population of the UK is ageing. Sixteen per cent of the UK population is 65 or older, and for the first time, there are more people over the age of 65 than there are under the age of 18.

Seventy-five per cent of the world's heather moorlands are in the UK. However, pollution, overgrazing and wild fires have damaged large areas. Several organisations in the Peak District National Park are trying to restore and conserve the moorland habitat.

Like the rest of the UK, Scotland is undergoing social and economic change. The population is declining, ageing and becoming increasingly diverse and the definition of what it means to 'be Scottish' is ever more complex.

The youth of London have an urgent message for the world about life in the capital and what the Olympic Games and its legacy will really mean for those living in its shadow. Generation 2012, an event which is part of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Festival of Social Science, is a community digital storytelling project that gives them the opportunity to 'tell it like it is'. At the same time the event will be launching a debate about the role of sport in mediating notions of identity within multicultural societies.

Your average conversation down the pub on a Friday night could include topics such as 'the kids are driving me mad this week' or 'the litter in our street is out of control' and 'have you seen that change 4 life advert on TV?' - but the crucial research behind the topics rarely gets the same attention.

Members of the public are being invited to share their memories of key turning points in their lives at an exhibition in London, as part of a national study of family life across the generations.

Now in its eighth year, the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Festival of Social Science is aiming to provoke debate and discussion about climate change and the environment from young people across the UK.

Issues such as redundancies, parenting and poverty often hit the headlines - but the crucial research behind the stories rarely gets the same attention. Without the work of social scientists policymakers would not have the necessary research evidence to back up new policies.

Initial findings carried out under the ESRC's World Economy and Finance research programme which comes to a conclusion with a conference in London on 28 January 2010 - a paper presented warns against privatising the recently nationalised banks too soon.

Following recent media reports of racial strife and gangs in high security prisons in the UK, a new study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) paints a more encouraging - if sometimes contradictory - picture of multicultural prison life.

The police service faces a host of new challenges but also opportunities in the wake of the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorism attacks and the global economic downturn.

With rising unemployment and fewer job vacancies, the current financial crisis has seen renewed policy emphasis in both Europe and the UK on volunteering as a route to employment, according to a new report from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC.)

Greater government aid to overseas development charities does not discourage individual giving, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Fears that increasing government grants would serve to 'crowd out' donations from individuals are unwarranted.

A partnership of outstanding international research organisations will support new economy research agency. The Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi (DED) is launching the Abu Dhabi Economics Research Agency (ADERA).

Computer screen pop-ups may slow down your work more than you think, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Working for the public sector is good for fertility, according to new Economic and Social Research Council funded research at the University of Oxford.