Talk:Jenny Randles

message: After discussion at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Oz Factor it was decided that Oz Factor should be merged into this article. I've redirected it, please use the history to extract the relevant content. Conscious 21:35, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The complete text is here:
The Oz Factor is a term coined by ufologist Jenny Randles and popularized by her 1983 book, UFO Reality.
Randles defined the Oz Factor as "the sensation of being isolated, or transported from the real world into a different environmental framework...where reality is but slightly different, [as in] the fairytale land of Oz."  
This quality is reported in many accounts of UFOs and related phenomena; Randles speculates that "The Oz factor certainly points to consciousness as the focal point of the UFO encounter."
Totnesmartin 22:59, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

text: Done Totnesmartin 17:05, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Oz Factor

message: See Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> Nhl4hamilton (talk) 08:04, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Citations & References

message: Randles admits to so many fake characters in her From Out of the Blue that her work seems almost fictional.  In notes following part 1, she identifies 4 characters are not real (From Out page 53). It might be worthwhile for the article to explore why a supposedly non-fiction author feels the need to use this technique.  
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.89.192.125 (talk) 04:28, 8 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fake characters 

message: That she was once Christopher was well known to the inner UFO community (I remember seeing graffiti on the Cradle Hill gatepost in 1976?) - it does seem a bit mean to out her as a sex-change in the first paragraph, even if she has detailed it herself in public.  Although interesting in a purient kind of way, and explaining her appearance and speaking voice, is it actually relevant to her oeuvre? It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
79.66.80.241 (talk) 00:00, 19 March 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Because her work has nothing to do with her sexuality or gender identification. That should be obvious.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.86.163.189 (talk) 06:56, 21 March 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: It would be 'obvious' in any legitimate field of endeavour, but her 'work' is that of fashioning lies out of 'whole cloth'and presenting fantasy as fact. 92.14.41.137 (talk) 20:05, 16 December 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: Sexuality

message: The information about this author’s education is, according to bios she writes herself, incorrect and should be corrected here. She appears not to have a university degree in geology or physics, or indeed in any subject, and she herself does not claim to have one.
It is true that her publishers (Simon and Schuster) make this assertion, on her official publisher’s page: “Jenny Randles, who specialized in physics and geology at university, . . . “ (http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Jenny-Randles/22372081) Amazon duplicates the info verbatim in some of its About the Author sections. Now so does this Wiki article.
What she states herself is as follows (bio submitted to 38th Annual UFO Conference, Austin, TX, Sept 2001):
“Trained to be a science teacher, specialising in geology. Then worked in making educational videos and obtained a Diploma (with distinction) in Media Communications (Manchester, 1978).” http://www.nufoc.net/nufoc38/randles.htm
This partly confirms a longer bio from the Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology (which appears from the level of detail to be written or based on material supplied by Randles herself):
“Jenny Jennifer Christine Randles [sic]
“British ufologist. She was born on October 30, 1951, in Bacup, England, and studied chemistry, mathematics, and physics, receiving advanced level General Certificates of Education in these subjects. She went on to post advanced level [i.e. post A-level] studies in geography and geology, receiving City and Guilds Certificates with distinctions in audio-visual technology and education. She was a teacher at a Cheshire Middle School (1972-74), a Research Coordinator on the council of the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA) (1975-77), and an audio-visual technician in a college of education, servicing teachers (1977-78).” (Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/jenny-randles#ixzz2CsJKylGJ)
All a little confusing, as what these “post advanced level studies in geography and geology” were is not clear, not least because she had not studied these subjects at A-level and because they may have been part of what was basically a vocational training diploma ("City and Guilds Certificates . . in audio-visual technology and education").
There is a further puzzle over what “(Manchester, 1978)” – the diploma granting body cited in her own bio – refers to. If this is what is now known as the Manchester Metropolitan University, it was a polytechnic operating under the local civic authority until 1989 and was not granted university status until 1992 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Metropolitan_University). City & Guilds is an international organisation, originally founded in the City of London, that provides vocational training (http://www.cityandguilds.com/About-Us) and is not itself a university. It offers various qualifications, with the distinction between awards, certificates and diplomas described as follows: “Awards are the smallest and require the least time to complete, certificates are larger and diplomas are the largest and usually contain a lot more units.” (http://www.cityandguilds.com/Courses-and-Qualifications/Qualifications-Explained) Randles’ qualification is variously given as a “Diploma” (by herself) and as a “Certificate” (in the Gale Encyclopedia entry quoted above). Diplomas are granted by British universities (and Manchester has a well-known university), but the subject is a bit complicated and as Randles does not appear to claim that she has attended a university I assume that she is not referrng to a university diploma. Such diplomas are awarded after what is either a shorter course than a full degree or a post-grad course.
In summary, Randles' education and relevant employment go as follows:
1. GCE A levels in chemistry, maths and physics (these are taken in last year at school);
2. Vocational training as a media technician/teacher, with unspecified “specialisation” in geology and possibly geography;
3. Two years employment teaching ?geology at a “Middle School” (these were schools that took ages between 8 and 13);
4. One year as an audio-visual technician.
Apart from the ambiguous reference to "Manchester, 1978" there is no mention of a university, and her actual qualifications are a far cry from a university degree. I submit this info because of the concern at the many inflated – and many totally spurious – educational/qualificational claims made by people in the ufology field. Unfounded claims to advanced (university level) qualifications in a science subject are especially disturbing as they confer special status on the claimant’s statements (authority, objectivity, scientific expertise etc). Randles appears not to be making such doubtful claims herself, but it is odd that she should allow markedly incorrect information given by her publisher to stand uncorrected. If untrue, it is particularly irksome that such info should appear in Wikipedia as many people use it as an authoritative reference, or at least a first port of call, in checking on someone’s background.
It also should not stand because she publishes under titles that indicate scientific topics. Examples are: Science and the UFOs (with Peter Warrington, 1991), Time Travel: Fact, Fiction and Possibility (1995), and Breaking the Time Barrier: The Race to Build the First Time Machine (2005). Her publisher's statement that she "specialized in physics and geology at university" could lead readers to expect a scientifically rigorous treatment by one qualified to provide such a treatment.
I’m a newbie here, so I leave it to someone more experienced to modify the entry.
Romillyh (talk) 23:07, 21 November 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Education 

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thread_title:  External links modified (January 2018)