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Heart of a Dog
- 170 statements
- 32 feature instances
- 12 referencing feature instances
| Heart of a Dog | type |
TVTItem | |
| Heart of a Dog | label |
Heart of a Dog | |
| Heart of a Dog | page |
HeartOfADog | |
| Heart of a Dog | comment |
A 1925 novella by Mikhail Bulgakov, about a dog turned by Russian scientists into a human and back. As it was typical of blatantly anti-Soviet works, it was not published in the Soviet Union until Perestroika in 1987.The narration begins from the perspective of a sickly stray dog freezing to death on the streets of Moscow. The dog is adopted by Professor Filipp Preobrazhensky, a brilliant surgeon who specializes in rejuvenation operations, for an impending experiment, and gradually heals in his absurdly spacious (by Soviet standards) seven-room apartment that also serves as his clinic. However, just as the dog, nicknamed Sharik (a common Russian dog name), begins to acclimatize, it is taken to an unexpected operation by Preobrashenzky and his assistant Dr. Bormental, who implant it with the pituitary gland and testicles of a recently deceased criminal.While it is meant to be a rejuvenation experiment, unexpectedly to the doctors, Sharik's dog features gradually fade away and he transforms into a man, who, with the encouragement of the house-manager Shvonder, adopts the weird name Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov, paralleling absurd "revolutionary" names that were popular in the first few years after the October Revolution. Preobrazhensky wants nothing to do with his creation, constantly belittles Sharikov for his rudeness and simple-mindedness, and forces him to seek support elsewhere, which Shvonder is all too eager to provide. Dealing with Sharikov's whims and transgressions eventually occupies so much of Preobrazhensky's attention that he is forced to practically abandon his surgery work. In the end, after Sharikov's attempt to sic secret police on him, Preobrazhensky turns Sharikov back into a dog.Critics usually interpret Heart of a Dog as a Take That! against the "New Soviet Man" archetype that the Bolsheviks were quick to invoke, depicting Sharikov (and Shvonder, who parallels him in many aspects) as a realistic result of the revolution, embodying its worst qualities; the kind of uncultured collaborationist simpleton that Bulgakov detested.The book was adapted in 1988 by Vladimir Bortko into a highly successful film, which followed the original text very closely. Bortko later went on to direct a TV miniseries adaptation of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. | |
| Heart of a Dog | fetched |
2024-01-16T14:29:50Z | |
| Heart of a Dog | parsed |
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| Heart of a Dog | processingComment |
Dropped link to GenreBlind: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN | |
| Heart of a Dog | processingUnknown |
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| Heart of a Dog | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_104ec859 | type |
Diabolical Dog Catcher | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_104ec859 | comment |
Diabolical Dog Catcher: Well, dog and cat exterminator. A job Sharikov takes to with a relish. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_104ec859 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_104ec859 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_104ec859 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_14ed6ab7 | type |
Does This Remind You of Anything? | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_14ed6ab7 | comment |
Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Sharikov and his colleagues hunt stray cats, it's deliberately filmed to look very much like a secret police operation. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_14ed6ab7 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_14ed6ab7 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_1994ba0b | type |
Gone Horribly Right | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_1994ba0b | comment |
Gone Horribly Right | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_1994ba0b | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_1994ba0b | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_1f799027 | type |
Obstructive Bureaucrat | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_1f799027 | comment |
Obstructive Bureaucrat: Schvonder. He's only obstructive to Preobrazhensky, though. To Sharikov and to the rest of the residents, he's downright helpful. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_1f799027 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_1f799027 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_267ce120 | type |
Dirty Old Man | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_267ce120 | comment |
Dirty Old Man: One of Preobrazhensky's clients is one. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_267ce120 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_267ce120 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_3126c34a | type |
Insufferable Genius | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_3126c34a | comment |
Insufferable Genius: Preobrazhensky is a very arrogant man. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_3126c34a | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_3126c34a | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_3126c34a | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_40f3b23a | type |
FilmOfTheBook | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_40f3b23a | comment |
Film of the Book | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_40f3b23a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_40f3b23a | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_40f3b23a | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4510b368 | type |
Ambiguous Gender | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4510b368 | comment |
Ambiguous Gender: Invoked. One of Shvonder's subordinates is a woman dressed as a man, not for the sake of cross-dressing, but because revolutionary fashion was extremely uniform and unisex at that time. So when Preobrazjensky asks her if she's a man or woman, she, naturally, takes it as an insult, part of his disgraceful reactionary ideas of an "old world" where men and women were unequal (or just, you know, to him being a jerkass). | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4510b368 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4510b368 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_4510b368 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4eaa9b84 | type |
Author Tract | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4eaa9b84 | comment |
Author Tract: Preobrazhensky's "counter-revolutionary" speeches. Bulgakov was not a big fan of the regime, and this trait often bled into his protagonists. In particular, he blames the ruin and decay that plagues the country on the Soviet citizens themselves. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4eaa9b84 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_4eaa9b84 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_4eaa9b84 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_504a1991 | type |
Body Horror | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_504a1991 | comment |
Body Horror: Sharikov's dog-to-human transformation is described in disturbing detail. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_504a1991 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_504a1991 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_504a1991 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_50b05d30 | type |
Disproportionate Retribution | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_50b05d30 | comment |
Disproportionate Retribution: At the end of the book Preobrazhensky "downgrades" Sharikov to a dog—effectively murders him. Yes, Sharikov was a deeply unpleasant man, he drank, lied, debauched, pilfered and sexually harassed women, but none of that warrants death. And yes, he wrote a letter to the authorities about Preobrazhensky's anti-Soviet views (which the "good" doctor was always extremely vocal about), but, despite what some might believe, a single baseless report was not nearly enough to warrant any penitary actions. Two witnesses had to overhear him actually saying something for the police to even saction an investigation. In addition, Preobrazhensky and Bormental were considering murdering Sharikov long before the letter incident happened. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_50b05d30 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_50b05d30 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_50b05d30 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_5313c266 | type |
Bookends | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_5313c266 | comment |
Book Ends: The movie begins and ends with the streets of Moscow, with Red Army soldiers marching while singing the same song. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_5313c266 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_5313c266 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_5313c266 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_5a40d6a | type |
Adaptation Distillation | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_5a40d6a | comment |
Adaptation Distillation: The film and stage adaptations tend to exaggerate the brutality and uncouth behavior of the 1920s Communists (and Sharikov's as well), while Bulgakov in the original text pokes fun at the good guys just as quickly as he does at the bad ones. For example, the girl typist who complains on the poor food and miserable wages in the stage version appears to be just a victim of widespread poverty, while in the original text she has to cope with poor food and an indifferent lover because she had spent most of her wages on cinema tickets. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_5a40d6a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_5a40d6a | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_5a40d6a | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_6bda9a30 | type |
Meaningful Name | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
Meaningful Name: Preobrazhensky stems from the Russian word from "transfiguration", which is what the professor does to his patients and to Sharik. "Poligraf Poligrafovich" means "Rotogravure, son of Rotogravure". The name is a parody of similarly nonsensical revolution-themed names that were popular for naming Soviet children around that time. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_6bda9a30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_6bda9a30 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_6bda9a30 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_7950239f | type |
Humanity Ensues | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_7950239f | comment |
Humanity Ensues | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_7950239f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_7950239f | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_7950239f | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_81c4faa3 | type |
Entertainingly Wrong | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_81c4faa3 | comment |
Entertainingly Wrong: Among Sharikov’s first words, there is a fish market sign pronounced backwards. Bormental concludes it must have something to do with the structure of nerves in a dog’s eye. In fact, Sharik simply read the sign from the end because there was always a militia man standing under the beginning. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_81c4faa3 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_81c4faa3 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_81c4faa3 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8605f0c0 | type |
Promoted to Love Interest | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8605f0c0 | comment |
Promoted to Love Interest: There’s an added subplot of Bormental’s secret crush on Vasnetsova, the typist whom Sharikov almost marries. It certainly sheds a new light on him going perfectly livid when Sharikov threatens to sack the girl. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8605f0c0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8605f0c0 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_8605f0c0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8c55e307 | type |
Ultimate Job Security | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8c55e307 | comment |
Ultimate Job Security: Preobrazhensky gets away with regularly flipping off the house committee, lives technically alone in seven rooms while most of his contemporaries barely get one, spits out blatantly anti-Soviet views and nostalgically longs for the cultured old times. He can afford it because not only is he really good at his job, the authorities use his surgery services as well, and he's not above pressing his clients into protecting him by witholding treatment. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8c55e307 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_8c55e307 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_8c55e307 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_97c4763 | type |
The Professor | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_97c4763 | comment |
The Professor: Preobrazhensky, obviously. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_97c4763 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_97c4763 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_97c4763 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_9ae85487 | type |
Dr. Jerk | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_9ae85487 | comment |
Dr. Jerk: Preobrazhensky is brilliant surgeon, but he's also an arrogant and self-indulgent hedonist, who holds the surrounding "vulgar" world in utter contempt. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_9ae85487 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_9ae85487 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_9ae85487 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a1a1491e | type |
Homage | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a1a1491e | comment |
Homage: To Frankenstein (scientist creates a new humanoid entity who is embittered toward his creator for not giving him affection) and to The Island of Doctor Moreau (scientist uplifts at least one animal, but the creations are still ruled by their animal instincts). | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a1a1491e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a1a1491e | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_a1a1491e | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a54534a0 | type |
Parental Neglect | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a54534a0 | comment |
Parental Neglect: Probrazhensky never shows an ounce of love or care for his own creation, but only scorn and sarcasm, which, surprisingly for nobody except him, leads to a retaliation. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a54534a0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a54534a0 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_a54534a0 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a8f905e3 | type |
While Rome Burns | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a8f905e3 | comment |
While Rome Burns: Despite Preobrazhenskiy's seething diatribe about "ruin in the heads", the undeniable fact is that he does live in times of post-war ruin, scarcity and turmoil, and the attempts to "annex" a couple of rooms out of his obscenely huge apartment are made out of sheer necessity for living space for relocated people, rather than greed. He doesn't care. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_a8f905e3 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_a8f905e3 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_a8f905e3 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_b87666bb | type |
Eccentric Exterminator | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_b87666bb | comment |
Eccentric Exterminator: Sharikov, once he gets assigned to rid Moscow of stray cats. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_b87666bb | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_b87666bb | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_b87666bb | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_bcb2cfe1 | type |
Beam Me Up, Scotty! | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_bcb2cfe1 | comment |
Beam Me Up, Scotty!: In the movie, there are a few scenes from Bulgakov's other works. Many of them have become Memetic Mutations in Russia, and they are often associated with the book. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_bcb2cfe1 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_bcb2cfe1 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_bcb2cfe1 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_c514c2c4 | type |
Gentleman and a Scholar | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_c514c2c4 | comment |
Gentleman and a Scholar: Preobrazhensky and Bormental. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_c514c2c4 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_c514c2c4 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_d028ca10 | type |
Deliberately Monochrome | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_d028ca10 | comment |
Deliberately Monochrome: Deliberately made in sepia to match the atmosphere of The Soviet '20s. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_d028ca10 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog / int_d028ca10 | featureConfidence |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_d028ca10 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_d2de1bff | type |
Age Insecurity | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_d2de1bff | comment |
Age Insecurity: One of Preobrazhensky's patients is a woman involved with a much younger man, and she desperately claims to be younger than she is. At first, when Preobrazhensky asks her about her age, she replies "Well, forty? five", then, at his further prompting, says "Fifty-one". Preobrazhensky's assistant Bormental estimates her real age as probably fifty-four or fifty-five. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_d2de1bff | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_d2de1bff | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_e313b4e7 | type |
Manchild | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_e313b4e7 | comment |
Manchild: Literally. Sharikov is technically several months old. He acts accordingly. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_e313b4e7 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_e313b4e7 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_e32e15d8 | type |
Stock Animal Name | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_e32e15d8 | comment |
Stock Animal Name: The dog's name, Sharik, is commonly given to smaller dogs in Russia. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_e32e15d8 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_e32e15d8 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_eb8e4fa8 | type |
Jerkass | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_eb8e4fa8 | comment |
Jerkass: Protagonist (Preobrazhensky) and his antagonists (Sharikov and Shvonder) are jerks. | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_eb8e4fa8 | featureApplicability |
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| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Heart of a Dog / int_eb8e4fa8 | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_name | type |
ItemName | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_name | comment |
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Heart of a Dog / int_name | |
| Heart of a Dog / int_name | itemName |
Heart of a Dog |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Age Insecurity / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Diesel Punk / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Forgotten Trope / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
German Russians / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Gone Horribly Wrong / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Obscured Special Effects / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Opera / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Promoted to Love Interest / int_2903c34b | |
| Russian Reading | seeAlso |
Heart of a Dog | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Ultimate Job Security / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Unwitting Test Subject / int_2903c34b | |
| Heart of a Dog | hasFeature |
Uplifted Animal / int_2903c34b |
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Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.