Todd, a client of yours in Hartford, Connecticut, calls you up one day and says, “As you know, I am an electrician who specializes in the installation of electricity in newly constructed commercial buildings as well as in private homes. I’m thinking of inserting a provision in all of my contracts that requires any dispute to first be mediated and then, if that doesn’t work, to be arbitrated by an arbitrator who is a member of the American Arbitration Association. However, I’m a little nervous as to whether courts will enforce these sorts of provisions, especially if they’re part of my form contract. Do me a favor: Please let me know what the courts’ attitudes have been towards arbitration and mediation clauses and, in general, what the courts have said about the desirability of using ADR methods to settle disputes.”

Please read the following cases:

Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp. v. Mercury Constr. Corp., 460 U.S. 1 (1983) and

AT&T Techs. v. Communs. Workers of Am., 475 U.S. 643 (1985).

Please write a brief letter of about 500 words addressing Todd’srequest. Please use applicable quotes and/or ideas from the two cases above in your letter.

This assignment is NOT an IRAC-based essay assignment; however, please properly support you statements.

The assignment takes the form of a 4,000 words essay. Please choose one of the following questions:

1. In the next two decades non-State actors will have greater importance than State actors in shaping the education policy and practice. Discuss with reference to a country of your choice. Discuss the assumptions underpinning this claim and evidence/ arguments in its support or against it.

2. ‘Currently, in developed societies around the world, education policies are primarily aimed at satisfying the concerns and interests of the middle class’ (Ball 2003:25) Discuss the extent to which this is –and will continue to be- the case with reference to new developments in education and technology OR the involvement of non-state actors in education.

3. ‘What could we expect to be the most significant trends in assessment in the next decade, and why?’ Discuss with reference to a country or area (this may be a stage of education or skills area, for example) of your choice, and/or to international large scale assessments (such as OECD’s PISA).

4.‘In 50 years, the number of institutions delivering higher education will be drastically reduced.’ Sebastian Thrun -Udacity Founder, went as far as saying –not that long ago- that within that time there will be only 10 institutions in the world delivering higher education. Discuss the assumptions underpinning this claim and evidence/ arguments in its support or against it.

5. ‘Within the next 50 years, we will be able to predict individual educational achievement before a child completes year 5’ Discuss the assumptions underpinning this claim and evidence/ arguments in its support or against it.

6. What are the implications of technological developments for a) the traditional notion of meritocracy or the b) link between education and work? Choose one of the two options.

7. What crucial questions about the future of education should we be asking ourselves (but we are not) and why? Discuss with reference to: (a) the purpose of education, (b) the involvement of non-state actors in education (c) education and technology or (d) the future of work, or some other option. [Discuss with the module convenor prior to choosing this option].