Is ''Waiver of Rights to a Judge or Jury Trial'' (In a Contract) Considered An Arbitration Clause ?

In Aste v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 312 Ill. App. 3d 972, 975-76, 728 N.E.2d 629, 245 Ill. Dec. 547 (2000), the parties' mutual promise to arbitrate was found to be sufficient consideration where "the parties agreed to arbitrate any disputes arising out of the transactions between them." Although the language in Aste is mimicked in the parties' Arbitration Agreement, in Aste there were no causes of action exempted from the arbitration proceedings. Moreover, in Browne v. Kline Tysons Imports, Inc., 190 F. Supp. 2d 827, 829 (E.D. Va. 2002), the court found arbitration language whereby both parties "knowingly waived their rights to a judge or jury trial" to mandate the parties' dispute be sent to arbitration.