PAVA

PAVA is an acronym used in multiple fields, most notably statistics and building safety systems. It commonly refers to the Pool Adjacent Violators Algorithm in statistics, or to Public Address and Voice Alarm systems in architectural safety.

Pool Adjacent Violators Algorithm (PAVA) is an efficient method for computing isotonic regression, a monotone nondecreasing fit to a set of observations under a squared-error loss. The algorithm initializes each observation as its own block and scans the sequence, merging adjacent blocks when their pooled average would violate monotonicity. This process repeats until all block means are nondecreasing. Weighted variants exist to incorporate observation weights. PAVA runs in linear time and is widely used in nonparametric statistics, calibration, and dose–response analysis.

Public Address and Voice Alarm (PAVA) systems are integrated communications installations used in buildings to provide routine announcements and emergency evacuation messaging. A typical PAVA setup comprises microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers organized into zones, control consoles, and playback or recording equipment. In emergencies, the system can deliver live or pre-recorded messages, support two-way communication with occupants, and interface with fire detection and alarm circuits. PAVA installations are designed to meet local fire-safety and building-code requirements, with standards and practices varying by jurisdiction.

Other uses of the acronym PAVA exist in specialized domains, but the two meanings above are the most widely recognized.